National Library Week is April 10-16, so I thought I’d celebrate by doing a tag about libraries! I adore visiting them and have THREE library cards – actually, I have four if you count my student ID, which gives me access to the materials in any of the eight libraries at the University of Iowa. I wanted to be a librarian when I was little. I attached my Iowa City library card to my keyring so that I’ll always have it with me and am prepared to check out more books whenever the mood strikes me.

Once a week, usually. I don’t limit myself to going only once per week, though – that’s just how my schedule typically works out. I don’t go there as often when I have a ton of homework, for obvious reasons. I didn’t go there much this winter, either, because I am secretly a whiny crybaby who hates the cold and doesn’t want to go outside even if it’s for books.

Are you the type of person who checks out more books than you know you can read or are you someone who only checks out the exact amount of books you intend on reading before they are due?

HAHAHAHAHA I AM DEFINITELY THE FIRST TYPE OF PERSON. It’s one of my worst habits. It’s like a “my eyes are bigger than my stomach” thing, or something. It’s funny… I rarely have this problem with actual food, but with books? Oh my god. I always tell myself that I’m only going to get a few books and I never stick to that. Ever.

How old were you when you got your first library card?

Five, I think? I taught myself to read at that age and I remember signing my name on the card when I got it. It definitely can’t have been any earlier than five because I would have had to know how to read first before I learned how to write.

Do you go to your library looking for a particular book or do you check out anything that piques your interest?

I check out anything and everything that looks even the slightest bit interesting. It’s another bad habit of mine… I’m so impulsive in the library! I rarely buy anything, including books – which, come to think of it, may be part of the problem. I tell myself that at least I’m not spending money and then I load up on library books and stagger home with three or four bags of them. This is why I end up checking out more books than I know I can read, even as I think to myself, “There’s no way that I can read all of these in two weeks.”

Do you use your library to check out just books or do you also check out DVDs, audiobooks, et cetera?

I use it for everything! As I just said, I rarely buy things (except, like, food and textbooks when needed), so I borrow from the library as much as possible. I love living in a place with a library that lets me keep DVDs for an entire week, because my hometown library only let me keep them for two days so timing was of the essence.

From what section of your library do you check out a majority of your books? (YA, middle grade, adult, nonfiction, et cetera?)

Um… YA and adult, I think? But if you mean by genre, then I raid the shelves where they keep graphic novels and comic books. I looked over at my bookshelf just now and 75% of the library books there are either graphic novel memoirs or something from DC Comics.

What is your favorite part of using your local library?

I love how many materials I can borrow for free! Thanks to the library, I have access to so many books, movies, et cetera from so many different countries and from throughout the ages. I can count on the library as a place to endlessly amuse me when I’m bored, or distract me when I’m sad.

Libraries and bookstores are my favorite places on earth and I will always be grateful for them. The other day one of my online friends told me that she lives too far away from the library to go there often, and that made me so sad, because I can’t imagine not being able to go to one at the drop of a hat.

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Do you use the library? What is the best and/or most unique thing about YOUR library?! I wanna know because it’s always so much fun to hear about all the cool things that other libraries in other towns far far away are doing!

4 Responses to The Library Lovers Tag

WOAH EIGHT LIBRARIES THAT’S AWESOME. I’ve actually just come back from a trip to the library haha. But I love them — I have no idea how people survive just on buying or borrowing books. My school library is actually also pretty great, so I love going there too! Sadly the council is closing one of my local libraries, although there’s a lot of protests so hopefully the plan won’t go ahead.

What a fun tag! I should do this. I wish I could get a library card but it’s been hard at the moment because I live outside of city limits and thus would have to pay upwards of $50 to get a card. 😦 But the hubby and I might be moving onto campus soon so I’ll be able to get a card then! 🙂

I LOVE MY LIBRARY. ❤ I've not been going recently thought because life has been a bit hectic and now it's school holidays and I don't go then because IT'S OVERRUN BY SCREAMING HUMANS. 😭 And all the good books are checked out anyway. Wah. Ahem.
I almost always just reserve books I want to read and pick them up. ;D I browse, but I rarely borrow spontaneously BECAUSE I HAVE TOO MANY BOOKS. GAHHHH. (Although I have been known to regularly borrow The Hunger Games out just because I didn't own a copy and I wanted to pet it….I know own the set though. hehe.)
The most unique thing my library does….ehhhh…they do a preschooler story time/playgroup-y thing once a week? Which is kind of cool, because they read the kids stories and teach them to love books! I take my niece/nephew. Otherwise my library is really quite boring. 😛 (It does have a good selection of YA though!)

When I’m in New Zealand, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the public library system. But my school library in India is okay? I mean, they’ve got lots of classics and stuff and sometimes theybuy books I reccommend, but yeah, less recent YA. I read a lot of digital books that I get from my new Zealand public Library membership. And audiobooks. This tag was awesome, I might just steal it. Well, it’s not my library, but my school does host a literature festival once each year? I’ve met or heard William Darymple, Patrick French and Vikram Seth speak, but yeah, they’re not so well known in YA land.
Libraries are the best. I might just steal this tag 🙂